Monday, August 27, 2012

Sam ignored the lie he saw on her face. "I can't trade without knowing what's at stake."

"I
thought the important thing was to keep things moving." Sara waved her
hands in small circles in front of her as though stirring the air into
action.

Sam shook his head. "If you don't know what you
want, you'll never get it. What's more, if you don't know what you
want, you'll never know when you do get it." He reached into his bag and withdrew a packet. He offered it to her on the palm of his hand. "So, Sara without an h, tell me--what do you want?"

Sara
is only in New York City for one day, a day she was supposed to spend
sightseeing with her father after his meeting wrapped up. But her
father's meeting runs long and Sara is left to her own devices. On
impulse she follows a boy she sees leaving a bookstore wearing a Zebra
Stripes hoodie, a band she loves that most other people haven't heard
of. It's a decision that could lead to something great or something
horrible, but the last thing she expects is for it to change her life.

Sam
knows a girl is following him, but he can't decide if he should ditch
her or let her catch up. He waits for her and meets Sara (without an h)
for the first time. Even without knowing anything about her, the
ever-observant Sam sees in Sara a kindred spirit, he just doesn't know
why yet.

They spend the day together and whether by
accident or design they end up on a seemingly impossible quest across
the city looking for something that may not even exist. Sam teaches Sara
the art of trading, promising you can get anything you want by starting
with a sugar packet. Sara shows Sam that sometimes letting go isn't the
same as letting go. They seem to click together perfectly, but
they're both holding onto demons they're afraid of revealing. Sam and
Sara know going in that there's an end in sight--Sara's flight leaves at
noon the next day--and it's a looming deadline that makes their time
together all the more special and their secrets all the heavier. Will
the strange ties that bind them be strong enough to hold when their
pasts come to light and their plans fall apart or will good-bye come far
too quickly after hello?

I loved this book. I adored
the feel of the city you get from it and I loved the characters. Sara
wears her smile like a shield to keep people from seeing the pain she
still feels from her mother's abandonment eight years ago and Sam is
still coping (and running) from a tragedy that shattered the way he
looks at the world. Sam has a unique way of seeing things and being able
to see from his point of view (the book is told from alternating
viewpoints) gave the story another level of depth the really drew me in.
It took a few chapters to get used to the switch between first person
(Sara's chapters) and third person limited-omniscient (Sam's sections),
but otherwise the writing style had a flavor I enjoyed. The
descriptions, comparisons, characters, and dialogue all seemed fresh and
real and kept me reading until I'd devoured the book in one sitting.
The only thing that bothered me: I wanted it to keep going! The book
offers a resolution, but enough of the story continues after the last
page that it's meant for either the reader to fill in the blanks or to
set the characters in motion for a sequel. Personally, I'm hoping for a
sequel.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Letterbox Love is a weekly feature hosted by Narratively Speaking, where bloggers can share the books they received that week.

First of all, I bought one ebook this week:

The first book in the 'Red Rock Pass' series by Moira Rogers, 'Cry Sanctuary'. I'm almost done with this one, and really enjoyed it. I'll probably buy the 2nd book in the series soon.

Then, I got these two:

I've actually had 'Witchling' for a few weeks, but I'm only really getting in to it now. While the story is interesting, the writing style doesn't grab me so much. I bought Spider's Bite yesterday, and I'm glad I finally got around to this series! I love it so far, but I've only read the first couple of chapters.

What books did you get this week? Let me know in the comments, and if you have a link to your own post, I'll check it out!

~Ailsa

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

I hope you all had a good summer - I know I did, even if it was incredibly busy. I finished working at camp on Friday afternoon, and after a busy weekend, made it to North Carolina on Sunday evening, where I'm studying this year. Being back at uni means I now have time for reviewing books again!

So, welcome back, everyone! I want to try to get back to my old schedule as quickly as possible - so I'll be aiming to do 2 or 3 reviews a week, and a Letterbox Love post at the weekend. I know, I know, I'm in the States now, but I still like to bring my Britishisms to some things.
I have a couple of books I read over the summer that I want to write about, and I'm reading one just now, but knowing me, other books will accumulate very quickly!

I'm also very happy to take on books for review just now, so check my policy (above) and get in touch if you're interested in me review a book or books for you.

About us: The Book Bundle Team

The Book Bundle is a review blog run by Ailsa, a Sales & Marketing Assistant at a small publishing company, and Emily Cross, an Irish PhD student. We review a wide variety of books, but lean towards fantasy, YA, UF, and romance. Check out the latest reviews to see what we're loving at the moment!

Review Policies

If you would like us to review your book, do an interview or host a guest blog, please check our full review policies (above)